Biafra: FG will “internally” deal with IPOB – Geoffrey Onyeama

Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, says Nigerian government will “internally” deal with the “threat” posed by Nnamdi Kanu and his group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Onyeama, at a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday evening, pointed out that government does not need suggestions from the international community to respond to menace from Biafra agitators.

“IPOB is as of now an internal threat and Nigeria does not need international assistance to resolve it,” the minister said.

Corresponding to him, IPOB was totally different from the Boko Harm terrorists which their primary aim was to capture territory and to kill innocent people.

He said unlike IPOB, Boko Haram was not an internal threat but international, mentioning its fidelity to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The foreign affairs minister stated that the position of President Muhammadu Buhari was that the Constitution of the country must be respected.

He advised that the country’s democracy was still developing and needed to mature and become stronger to deal with some of the democratic challenges.

“The important thing we should be focusing on is nation-building using the existing democratic structures.

“Mr President came and had an agenda for the country and you really just don’t want to be distracted from that agenda.

“The economy was in a terrible state when this government came in, we went into recession for the first time in decades and we’re just coming out of that recession.

“We want to keep on that path and we believe that a lot of these issues and challenges in the country have their bases in the economics.

“If we can provide a good living standard and quality of life for our people, all these issues (Biafra agitation) will fall by the way side.

“That is why we must not be distracted from transforming the economy of our country. What I’m saying is that we want to focus on the economy.

“We believe if we can get the economy right, a lot of the young people who feel that Nigeria as presently constituted is not addressing their problems, is not giving them the hope, will change their perspective.”

He said government will continue to respect free speech, human rights and the Rule of Law.

Onyeama added that the Nigerian military respects the ‘rule of engagement’ in undertaking its duties.